Tobias Bach, professor of Political Science and Circle U. Chair of Democracy, was one of the organizers, along with Professor Dr. Edoardo Traversa from the Faculty of Law at
Université Catholique de Louvain. The interdisciplinarity between law and political science is one of the key elements of the forum.
The Circle U. Tax Forum is one of the projects funded by the Circle U. seed funding scheme.
Why are tax issues and tax administration important for the development of democratic values and principles?
"Taxation has always played a key role in the establishment and development of democracies. Most democratic revolutions had a tax dimension; tax systems generate revenues necessary for the sustainability of the European social model, and perceptions of fairness around taxation strongly influence the public debate on the legitimacy of democratic institutions and actors in every country. In a broader perspective, this topic speaks to a larger debate on how bureaucracy, which often is considered as a problem for democracy, contributes towards sustaining democratic legitimacy," explain professors Bach and Traversa.
How this did project come about?
"We wanted to develop a comparative and interdisciplinary analysis on how tax administrations see their role and are perceived by the public in democracies. Hence, we decided to mix political science, law, and behavioral sciences, starting with a collaboration between Oslo and Louvain on research carried out by one Ph.D. student, Pierre-Louis Krug with Edoardo Traversa (law) as main supervisor and Tobias Bach (political science) as a co-supervisor."
In the first workshop in March, you set out three research streams for the Circle U. Tax Forum: Taxation of Digital Assets and Wealth, Democracy and Tax Administration, and Advancing Environmental and Health Policies through Business Taxation. Can you give us an update on the work here?
Professor Traversa answers: "The Oslo workshop of 20 June where we heard Belgian and Norwegian tax authorities explain how they integrate the taxpayers’ perspective in their everyday work, is directly related to the topic “Democracy and tax administration”. On June 12/13, we held a workshop in Vienna on Democracy and Finance, where we also discussed issues relating to the digitalization of finance and its tax implications. We are planning with our colleague Stephen Daly a seminar at King’s College in September 2023 where we invite researchers to present their work on tax administration practices in European democracies. Besides planning future events for 2024 (Pisa, Belgrade), we are also working on the creation of a Ph.D. network. And we have just integrated in the Tax Forum a new colleague from Paris."
Pierre-Louis Krug is a Ph.D. student at Louvain and now currently at research stay at the Department of Political Science at UiO, as part of the Circle U Early-Career Researchers International Mobility Scheme grant.
This is a project between UCLouvain and UiO, and with tax authorities in Belgium and Norway. What can we learn from each other?
"Universities can learn a lot from external stakeholders such as tax administrations and the other way around. Indeed, organizing such events and meetings enable researchers to confront their studies to a more practical perspective. At the same time, it can also help tax administrations to apprehend their practice through a theoretical framework. Furthermore, such collaborations between countries provide comparative dimensions which are very useful to think about our own ways of doing and to be inspired by certain ideas from abroad," he says.
As a PhD, what are the key benefits of being a part of a project like this?
"As a PhD student, taking part in such a project is very enriching. The Circle U. program enabled me to come to Oslo for a research stay for six weeks. There, I have met many researchers from various fields (law, economy, and political sciences). I also received several opportunities to present my research, which allowed me to get different perspectives on my project and to extend my network in the field. We eventually set up a joint seminar to organize the meeting between representatives from the Norwegian and the Belgian tax authorities to discuss the ways they take into account the taxpayer’s perspective in their daily practice. The seminar was a great success and will surely help me to add practical and comparative considerations to my studies," Krug says.
You explored the idea of creating a network for doctoral students with joint seminars and organizing joint activities for students. What’s the status here?
"We are indeed trying to create a kind of sub-network between the different Ph.D. students from the Circle U. universities conducting their research in tax law. This idea is still in its early stages, but the objective of such a network is to meet other Ph.D. students from various universities working on related issues and experiencing similar challenges. This network firstly aims at providing a platform for discussion and experience-sharing and, in the long term, could give rise to joint projects such as seminars and workshops," Krug concludes.
